The coastline of Peru is prone to water scarcity caused by seasonal meteorological drought, standing in stark contrast to the Amazon Basin of the country, which is highly prone to flooding. The varied climate and topography of the country makes the creation of a national water plan a complex task. UNESCO has supported efforts in establishing the National Drought Observatory in Peru, which has become a cornerstone of the national drought management strategy.

Though droughts are natural events, there is an increasing understanding of how humans have amplified their severity and worsened their effects on both the environment and human populations. Humans have altered both meteorological droughts through human-induced climate change and hydrological droughts through management of water movement and processes within a landscape, such as by diverting rivers or changing land use. In the Anthropocene (the ongoing period in which humans are the dominant influence on climate and the environment), droughts are closely entwined with human actions, cultures and responses.

This series of videos explains the effects of drought all around the world through the presentation of case studies.

They are the result of the work of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in partnership with GRID-Arendal, the University of Southampton and the U.S. National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS).

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